(5 of 5)
McGreevey apparently didn't mind putting the state through three more months of debate, since he's not actually leaving until November. The delay is nakedly political--by waiting so long, McGreevey ensures that the state cannot hold a special election on Election Day. A fellow Democrat, state senate president Richard Codey, will finish out McGreevey's term as Governor, which lasts until January 2006 (New Jersey has no Lieutenant Governor).
McGreevey has worked hard for the Democrats for many years, and the timing of his departure will be his final gift to the party as Governor. But all his work--what has it meant? "He never achieved an approval rating that was close to 50% because of this litany of lapses of judgment," says Ingrid Reed of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. McGreevey's father once told him, "Don't worry about being liked. Worry about being respected." McGreevey could well leave office with little prospect of either.
--With reporting by Lisa Beyer, Simon Crittle and Felice Maranz/New York; Charlotte Faltermayer/Woodbridge; Deborah Jones/Vancouver; Aharon Klein/Jerusalem; and Karen Tumulty/Washington